I tested many e-bikes in my time here at TechCrunch. And I didn’t want to stick to one, just like Haybike’s new Alpha.
This sturdy, fat-tyre all-terrain E-bike is worth a price tag of $1,699. The alpha has been chopped into many of my boxes, including things I didn’t even know I had. For example, I wanted an E-Bike with pedal assist and throttle, but I didn’t know I liked the E-Bike with pedal assist, throttle and manual shifter. Perhaps the most dream part of riding an Alpha was the mid-drive motor with torque sensors, leading to a more natural riding vibe. And battery life is expected to last forever.
It wasn’t all roses and rainbows. I have some complaints about the app, bike setup, and oversized horns. But in general, this is all great on e-bike, whether you want to take it on an off-road adventure or use it in the city to do weekly trader Joe shopping.
And the question is how long this bike will last. Heybike is a Chinese manufacturer, and its bicycles are made in China. With tariffs, these bikes could be even more expensive for US consumers, even with lower rates these days.
Affordable mid-drive E-bike
The Alpha is the first of the Haybikes with a House-in-House Galaxy Edrive system that uses a 500W Mibis Mid Drive motor along with a 680WH battery.
Most other e-bikes I have tried are built with motors mounted on wheel hubs, making them simpler and more affordable designs. What if the mid-drive motor is near the pedals and you could get such a bike for a decent price? Take that. Because not everyone wants to buy a Bafang conversion kit and build their own, inexpensive mid-drive.
Even with the fifth and highest level of pedal assist, the Alpha is smooth and easy to control, and feels like it’s pedaling a traditional push bike. There’s no tingling about acceleration.
However, mid-drive has its drawbacks. If you’re the type of rider who likes to tilt heavily towards the throttle, the Haybike Alpha is probably not for you. A company spokesman told me that Heybike doesn’t encourage the use of the only throttle, especially at the start of the ride, as it can damage the motor and damage the train.
And with Alpha, you can’t actually start the ride on the throttle. You must first step on the pedal and accumulate at least 5 miles before the throttle is engaged. The throttle adjusts the speed based on the pedal assist level. Even at the highest level, the maximum speed while using the throttle can only reach 20 mph. That said, you can push up to 28 mph while you’re squeezing the pedal.
I didn’t think the throttle constraints were too problematic. Of course, there were occasional moments when I was hoping for a fast vacation that sensitive throttles offer, through the chaotic streets of New York City. Still, I found that the pedal assist was well responsive.
With a torque of 105 nm, it was also powerful. I rarely realized that I had to remove it from the first level. The addition of the Shimano Altus 8-Gear Shifter helped to enhance its power. The shifter kicked it up into higher gear on flat terrain and brought it back into lower gear as he climbed the hill. This meant that the pedal assist could be kept at 1 to save battery power.
And it is worth noting that while I was in the hill subject, Alpha dealt with sloping trends like absolute champions.
Lives the Alpha battery for a long time
Alpha’s UL certified batteries allow for a range of up to 60 miles on a single charge, but you wouldn’t be surprised if they surpass that. After removing the battery and charging it once (it became a challenge discussed below), I was riding my bike on several trips up the neighborhood and various hills, probably a total of 22 miles. The battery life of the LCD mid-mount screen somehow fell below 100%.
It may have something to do with the galaxy’s Edrive. This appeared to have a regeneration braking system that would return power to the battery with every time I brake. Heybike says its Galaxy system offers more than 8% of the additional range compared to batteries of the same capacity.
More notes on sturdyness
The Alpha could possibly double as a cargo bike for delivery riders. It comes with enough rear racks to strap three fillings of groceries, but it’s possible that one of those big hood delivery boxes was easily installed.
It also has a payload totaling 400 pounds. This is the same amount as the Pedego Cargo Bike we tested last year, twice the price and twice the weight. Heybike’s Alpha is not a small bike that can easily be hidden in a NYC apartment, but with an aluminum alloy frame it wasn’t too heavy or clumsy at 71 pounds.
And while the 26 x 4 inch fat tires are great for ramming through gravel and tree roots, they are good at dealing with pot holes and uneven road surfaces in New York. Not only the tires, but the resilient hydraulic front fork suspension have taken most of the hits from some of these roads, making it easier to get in and out of the sidewalk.
Cons: Setup, quality concerns, and what a horn
It’s not that Alpha had no challenges. For one, there was a considerable amount of setup when the bike was delivered, so I had to pay attention to the QR code instruction manual.
If you don’t have the habit of putting together bike parts (I’m not), you’re responsible for making some mistakes. I had been helping out in my office by two lovely coworkers, but as I walked the path something still felt. I took it to the bike shop where the mechanic shook his head empathically and made some tweaks, including the handlebars I hadn’t set up in the right position.
I also had trouble removing the battery cover from the downtube. That’s just not going off! I looked up educational videos on YouTube and all I could find was to remove 16 seconds from Heybike and install battery ASMR videos. In the end I had to open the cover and Jimmy, but I found out that someone seemed to screw that wrong way, preventing the metal cover from ejecting. I screwed it in the right way so that I could click properly.
But then more battery cover drama. After a few rides, the cover started to pop out halfway. I put it back, hit the bump and went there again. Thinking it was likely that I’d ruined something while messing around with the battery cover, I tape it in place and called it a day.
Another downvote for Alpha was the horn. My God, that’s loud. Imagine trying to bother someone by screaming “hoooonnnkkk.” That’s how the horn sounded. It was so aggressive that it was embarrassing to use it to warn pedestrians and other riders when I passed by. But it helped when I wanted to symbolically turn a car into a bike lane.
The app wasn’t impressive either. It could be that I would turn my bike off, but I couldn’t turn it on because I had to already have to turn it on to connect to the app via Bluetooth. The app can turn the front headlights (very bright, by the way) on/off, or record and share trip data. Personally, I think the e-bike app is only worth using if you want to provide live tracking, anti-theft and alarms.
There aren’t many colors to choose from. In fact, if you want a step-through, I get it in white. And if you want a step overframe, it’s better to be happy with the black.
Last note on adding turn signals: they worked fine, but I hardly remembered to use them.
Heybike Alpha: Best when it’s convenient.
Overall, I thought the Heybike Alpha was a solid ride, especially in the price range. It’s pretty good because bikes with Alpha specifications typically operate in the $2,000 to $4,500 range. The battery cover issue was raising some red flags about quality issues, but I wonder if there were other issues if I had been riding it longer.
Affordable tags may be based on poor customer service based on online reviews, but personally I couldn’t talk about it. What I know is that it was one of the smoothest and easiest fat tire e-bikes I’ve had the joy of riding.